Fear
by enchantedpotter101
Summary: Post-movie. Contains minor Spoilers. Ed and Al are living in Munich and thirteen-year-old Al has to go to school. But he is hiding something from Ed. Chapter 11 is finally complete! One more chaptet to go.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, just a story that popped into my head a few days ago. A Ed and Al brotherly-bonding story. Post Conqueror of Shambala movie, contains some spoilers. I don't own FMA.**

"You ready then," Ed asked, looking up from the sink, washing the plates he and his brother had been using that morning

"You ready then," Ed asked, looking up from the sink, washing the plates he and his brother had been using that morning. Edward sighed and chuckled slightly at himself – washing dishes! Ed Elric! Who'd have thought? He didn't like chores, nobody did. But when you lived alone with your younger, thirteen year old brother, you had to be responsible and mature sometimes, even if that meant acting like a typical adult. Quite obviously, the dishes were not going to wash themselves, and you can't just leave them lying around.

"Yep," Al replied, walking into the kitchen.

"First day of school," Ed grinned.

"Why do I have to go?" Moaned Al, sitting down at the table.

"Because, you have to, your thirteen again," Ed laughed, "And we'd have a tough time convincing anyone here that you're nearly seventeen.

"Why don't you have to go?" Al asked.

"Because, I'm seventeen, soon to be eighteen," Ed explained, "I've got a job now as well. We need the money or we'll just starve."

"You work in a shop," Al grinned, "With Gracia."

"That's not permanent," Ed said, "It's just for now."

* * *

"Morning Gracia," Ed said with a smile.

"Good morning Edward," she replied, also smiling, "And good morning Alphonse."

"Morning," Al smiled.

"Off to school?" Gracia asked.

Al nodded.

"Quite obviously, he can't wait," Ed grinned.

"It'll be fine," Gracia assured Al.

"I'll be back in a minute, I better make sure he knows where he's going," Ed said as Al left the store.

"Goodbye Brother," Al said as he set off. He hadn't walked more than a few metres when he turned. Ed was watching him, leaning casually against the wall.

"Everything ok?" Ed asked.

Al nodded. He turned and continued walking.

It felt strange. He hadn't really been out and about the town alone since coming here. And he felt strange. Going to school, without Ed. Al sighed and smiled softly.

"Now boys, be careful. Stay together," Trisha said, bending down and kissing both her sons on their cheeks, handing them their lunches. "We will mom," Ed grinned. "Look after your brother."

"_Don't worry, I will," Ed promised._

"_And Al," Trisha said, looking fondly at her youngest son, "Stay with Ed, ok?"_

"_Yep mom," Al smiled._

_The two brothers set off to school, and met up with Winry half way there. They soon arrived at the small schoolhouse, just as one of the teachers rang the bell._

"_Meet you two at break, by the tree," Ed said before running off to join his class._

"_See you," Al and Winry said together, waving to Ed, and then following their classmates into the building._

Al arrived at the school. It was a two-story brick building with lots of small windows and a fenced yard at the front, where lots of children were standing around, talking, playing ball, skipping, playing marbles, pulling each others hair. It looked different, strange. Almost scary. Al stood up straight and walked into the yard. Some students standing nearby turned to look at him for a moment, not recognising him, but then turned away to continue with their games and chatter.

* * *

Ed stared at the ceiling. It had been a long and boring day. He couldn't wait until Al finally got home. It shouldn't be too much longer now. Ed turned and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. He really should be home any minute. Hopefully everything would be ok. He hadn't been so keen on Al going to school, but he had thought about it and decided that it might be better for Al's future. Ed knew he was unlikely to be able to do any proper work here. He didn't have a whole lot of skills. And he had taken away about five years of Al's childhood; he deserved to be a kid again.

Suddenly, Ed jumped as the door swung open and slammed shut again. Al ran passed, not even looking at him, and slammed the door shut in his room.

"Al?" Ed asked, confused and surprised.

"I got a lot of homework," Al called back.

"Are you ok?" Asked Ed.

"I'm fine," snapped Al.

"Dinner will be ready soon."

"I-I'm not hungry," Al stammered.

"What?" Ed asked, frowning.

"I ate in school."

"Come on, You have to have dinner."

"Ed, I'm busy."

Ed stared at the door. What the hell was going on? Maybe it had just been a stressful day for Al. He'd get used to things soon. Maybe, I should just give him some space, Ed thought. Biting his lip in worry, Ed walked into the kitchen, glancing worriedly at door.

Al took out his pen and began writing out the answers to the sums. Tears were brimming in his eyes, but he continued to write. The tears began to impair his vision and everything went blurry. In frustration, Al wiped them away with the back of his hand. He tried to concentrate on the work. He knew he had to do this right, or he'd be dead. But why was he so scared? Did Ed suspect anything? He hoped not. He hadn't wanted to be rude to his older brother, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to face Ed, not after what had happened. He didn't want Ed to be worried. Al sighed, trying to concentrate. He double-checked the sum that he had just done. It seemed right. He was starving, he hadn't eaten since breakfast. Luckily, he had no lunch left, so Ed wouldn't be worried. Al had desperately wanted to have dinner, but that would mean facing Ed, and he couldn't deal with that now. He had to have time to calm down, to be alone.


	2. Chapter 2

"_If we get bad marks, we'll beat you up so badly." Kurt, the tall fourteen-year-old threatened, shoving his papers into Al's arms._

"_My brother wouldn't let you, he could beat both of you up," Al blurted out, wishing he hadn't. Both boys sniggered._

"_Not with arms and legs like that," sniggered the bulky one, Peter, who was also fourteen._

"_Yeah," Kurt sneered, "He's also the shortest person I've ever seen._

_Before Al knew what he was doing, he grabbed Kurt's shoulders and slammed him against the wall. It wasn't the type of thing that Al never did and he was shocked at his own actions. It was Ed who usually overreacted in situations like this, when people commented about his height, whether they were just pointing it out, teasing or purposely insulting him. _

"_Don't call my brother short!" Al snapped, his voice shaking slightly._

"_Get off me," Yelled Kurt, punching Al in the stomach. Al fell to the floor._

"_You're not going to tell your brother anything, unless you're a baby," Peter snapped._

"_I'll tell a teacher then." Instantly, Al realised that wasn't really the right thing to be saying. He was expecting to be hit again, or have another insult thrown at him. Instead, the two boys looked at each other and laughed._

"_Like they'll care."_

Al sniffed, burying his face in his pillow, trying not to cry. His stomach was still stinging and his back ached from falling on the hard ground. He hoped all their answers were correct. He didn't want Ed to get hurt. Al was pretty sure that they wouldn't really go near Ed, but he was worried anyway. Why was he so scared? A few mean kids at school, he had certainly faced a lot, lot worse in the past few years. He shut his eyes tight, trying not to think about it.

"_Tag! You're it!" Winry yelled, slapping Al on the shoulder._

"_Ow," Al moaned, rubbing his arm._

_Winry and Ed ran off, giggling. Al began to chase after them as fast as his legs could carry him. They were way faster than him. They turned around, running backwards as Al slowed to a stop, panting and gasping for breath._

"_Come on Al," Ed grinned._

"_You'll never catch us if you keep stopping," Winry cried, slowing to a jog, quickly glancing around to make sure she wasn't going to run into anybody._

"_You two are faster than me," Al sighed._

"_Al, you always say that," said Ed._

"_You're getting much faster, you'll just have to try harder," smiled Winry._

_Al nodded. Taking one last breath, he began to run again. Surprised at his quick recovery, Ed and Winry sped off again._

Al whimpered. "Winry…mother…"

* * *

"Good morning," Ed grinned as Al plodded into the kitchen.

"Morning," Al mumbled, avoiding Ed's gaze, and sitting down with a thump on his chair. He stared blankly at the piece of soggy buttered bread on the plate in front of him.

"Are you gonna eat?" Ed asked. "I know it's not really much of a breakfast…you can have another slice if you like."

Al shook his head and began nibbling on the corner of the slice in front of him.

How about I get some eggs today?" Suggested Ed.

Al looked up, concentrating on the window rather that looking straight at Ed and just shrugged.

"I don't mind Brother."

"You seemed a bit tense last night. Were you ok, at school? With your homework?"

"Everything's fine," Al replied quickly.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Ok then," Ed said, shrugging.

Al turned his attention back to his mushy piece of bread. It tasted really strange. Ed almost always managed to find a way to make food taste terrible.

"I don't want to rush you, but you're going to have to leave soon, or you'll be late," Ed said after a few minutes of silence. Al froze. He knew he had to go back, but somehow, he was hoping he wouldn't have to. This was ridiculous. He'd just give them their work and ignore them for the rest of the day. They'd soon leave him alone.

"Yes," Al said, feeling a bit more cheerful, "Goodbye Brother."

"Bye Al," Ed said.

* * *

Al walked into the almost empty classroom. Students weren't really supposed to be the in the building before the bell rang unless the weather was bad, but the teachers weren't really going to stop them. Taking a deep breath, Al walked over to where Peter and Kurt sat, lazily leaning back in their chairs so that they were tipped back, the chairs balancing on its back legs.

"Here you go," Al murmured, awkwardly walking over and putting the sheets of paper on the desk. Kurt just nodded. Al turned to leave but his foot banged against something and he stumbled forward, landing face-first on the hard wooden floor. Peter and Kurt glanced at each other, not making any attempt to hide their laughter. Al felt his face burning, but he desperately tried to calm himself down. Just ignore them, ignore them, he reminded himself. Making sure that nobody else had their feet in his path, Al hurried outside.


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Al rubbed his eyes. He had finally finished Peter and Kurt's homework. Yawning, Al picked up his own sheet of paper. He began to write, making sure that he wrote in a style that differed from the other two pieces of work, glancing at the clock before he did so. Al put his pencil down and sighed. It was very late, and he liked to get a good sleep, especially when he had to get up early the next morning. However, it probably didn't matter now. Al hardly slept at night. He just cried and thought, trying to forget about the present and think of the warm, peaceful and comforting memories from his past. The times when he had been a suit of armour, and life had been hard, but he and Ed and always been there for each other, and his childhood, when he was only a little kid and their mother had still been alive. Again, Al yawned. He looked at his paper, and slowly continued writing.

* * *

Ed leaned out of the open window in his bedroom, staring at the streets below. Something was defiantly wrong. Al again chose not to eat after he had got home from school, locking himself in his room to do his work. Something wasn't right. Al was hiding something, Ed could feel it, and he didn't like it.

* * *

"Hey Elric," What's the answer to question five?" Hissed Kurt, nudging Al's arm sharply in class the next day. Al looked at the question, quickly double-checked that it was right and automatically whispered the answer back.

"Alphonse Elric! Kurt Ackermann! Stand up!" The teacher's voice commanded. Obediently, the two boys instantly stood up.

"Why were you two talking?"

Neither of them replied.

"Can you tell me what you were talking about Elric?"

Al froze. "I-I was just telling him the answer to a question," Al stuttered.

"And it was Mister Ackermann who asked you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Both of you come here!" The teacher ordered. Both boys slowly walked to the front of the room. Al was shaking, his legs felt numb.

Taking a cane out of his desk, the teacher told them to hold out their hands and he hit them both across the palm a few times. Al's hand was burning; he tried desperately to think of something else.

"Now, go stand in the corner."

Silently, Al and Kurt retreated to the corner. Kurt shot a quick, heated glare in Al's direction, before turning and ignoring him.

* * *

Kurt and Peter marched over to Al, who was sitting against the wall, nursing his hand.

"You're gonna pay for that," snapped Kurt, punching Al before he had time to react.

"I'm sorry," Al whimpered, struggling to stand up.

"That's not good enough," Peter yelled, kicking Al sharply in the shin, causing him to fall back down, wincing slightly in pain.

"You're damn lucky," snarled Kurt, "He could have hit us a lot harder. But I swear, I'll kill you if you ever let that happen again."

"I won't," Al promised meekly.

"But you got us into big trouble," Peter said, "So you're gonna pay."

"What are you going to do?" Asked Al timidly.

"We're going to rip of your brother's arm and leg, that's what we're gonna do," laughed Peter.

Al's face went red with fury and rage. He jumped up.

"You're not going to touch my brother!" He yelled, trying to hit Peter. Kurt grabbed his wrist and twisted it into a painful position.

"Then you had better be on your best behaviour for the rest of the day then," warned Kurt.

* * *

"Come on Al, this is getting pathetic. You haven't eaten dinner since you started school. I'm not going to let you starve, no matter how much homework you've got," Ed said, banging on Al's bedroom door.

The door opened and Al glared at his brother.

"Fine," he moaned, pushing past his older brother. He didn't get far though, because something caught Ed's eye. For the second time that day, somebody grabbed Al's wrist.

"What happened, Al?" Ed asked, a look of shock on his face. Al attempted to pull away, but failed, Ed tightening his grip of Al's arm.

"Answer me Al!"

"Nothing," Al muttered sharply, rolling his eyes angrily. Ed pulled sharply on Al's arm, holding him against the wall.

"Who the hell did this to you all!" Ed yelled furiously. For the first time in what seemed like ages, the two brothers looked into each other's eyes. Al looked surprised at his brother's actions, but there was also fear in his expression.

"The teacher," Al murmured quietly, looking away from his brother.

"Why did he do that?" Ed asked coldly.

"I was ch-cheating," Al said with a sigh, "I'm sorry Brother."

"Why did you do that?" Ed demanded.

"I-I don't know."

"Al, you idiot! Why would you be so stupid?"

Al pushed his brother away from him. "Leave me alone!" He shouted, "Stop pushing me around, I'm sick of everybody pushing me around!" Before Ed could do anything, Al had raced back into his room and flung himself on his bed, tears rolling down his face.


	4. Chapter 4

"Morning Al," Ed said. He didn't sound anywhere near as cheerful as he usually did, but Al didn't seem to notice as he sat down at the table. It looked like Ed had got some eggs. They didn't look very appealing though. A bit … greenish … they probably weren't very safe to eat. Al looked at the egg, maybe he should consider skipping breakfast …

"Al, we need to have a talk," Ed said firmly, looking at his younger brother.

"About what?" Asked Al, focussing on the egg.

"I'm sorry about how I acted last night. You've been acting really strange though recently, and I want you to tell me what's troubling you, maybe I can help." Ed said gently, hoping to win over Al.

"Nothing's wrong," Insisted Al.

"But you haven't been yourself lately," Ed retorted.

"I'm just, still getting used to living here," sighed Al.

"Is that it? That's all that's bothering you? Because you were fine until a while ago."

Al said nothing; he just chewed his lip nervously, wishing that Ed would just drop it.

"Well?" Ed asked, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms, "I want you to tell me what's on your mind. We shouldn't be keeping things from each other."

Taking a deep, quick breath, Al looked up at his older brother. "I miss Winry," Al said honestly. Ed stared at him, his face unreadable. Al felt a bit bad about saying that to Ed. It was true, Al did miss Winry, terribly, especially now. Obviously, they were both going to miss Winry and their own world and home and all their friends, but being together is what they had wanted.

"I'm sorry Al," Ed whispered after a few minutes. "I wish there was some way I could get you back."

Al shook his head and tried his best to smile. "No, I want to be with you Brother."

Ed was about to answer, but Al quickly jumped up. "I don't want to be late, see you later Brother." Waving, Al picked up his things and hurriedly rushed out of the door.

* * *

Walking down the street, Al felt like punching himself. Why didn't he just tell Ed what was going on? It was probably the smartest thing to do, Ed would have put a stop to it, Al was sure of it. Things had just been worse yesterday. After the events in the classroom that morning, they had pinched some of his food, given him more work to do, punched his face when he had tried to ignore them and hidden his geography book. No, Al thought, he couldn't tell Ed. What if Ed couldn't stop them? Then his life would just end up being even more miserable that it already was.

Al froze as he arrived at the school. There they were, watching him, waiting for him. Damn, why hadn't he done their homework last night? He hadn't even done his. He was in for it now. The teacher would kill them and then they would. Why him? Well, Al was perfectly aware that a very large amount of the children here got picked on. It just seemed natural. Unfortunately, a larger amount of the students were the people who picked on the others. They usually travelled in gangs of two to four or five, and would usually target just one or two people.

Al walked past them, looking straight ahead, trying to pretend that they were not there.

"Hey Elric, get over here!" Peter called.

Al continued walking. Part of him wanted to stop, another part was telling him to get away as fast as he could.

"Get back here Elric," Yelled Kurt.

Al turned around to see them coming after him. Impulsively, Al ran. The two boys were running after him. They were very fast runners, Al noted, glancing behind him. Al began gasping for breath. He wasn't a very good runner. This was just like when he used to play games with Winry and Ed. Except, Winry and Ed would never beat Al up. Nearly knocking someone over, Al abruptly changed direction and, without thinking, raced out of the school gate. He stopped for a second, blinking, realising what he had just done. However, Peter and Kurt were following him. They looked a bit angry, but they seemed to be more amused, supposedly finding it funny that Al was scared and running away from them.

* * *

Sergeant Hughes walked casually into the store, lounging at the counter. Gracia walked over, smiling shyly.

"Anything I can do for you today Sergeant?" She asked.

"Thanks, no." Hughes said. She nodded slowly. "Would you like to go to the theatre with me tomorrow night?"

Gracia looked up, her eyes wide. "Can you afford it?" She asked, frowning slightly.

"Course I can," grinned Hughes.

"Well, okay then."

"Good."

Hughes left the shop, whistling merrily. He was approaching a small alley in between two buildings. There seemed to be a brawl or struggle going on, between a small group of boys.

"Ok you lot, break it up!" He commanded, stepping in, trying to pull the boys apart. That was when Hughes recognised one of the boys involved.

"Alphonse!"


	5. Chapter 5

Taking a deep breath, Hughes knocked on the door of the home where the Elric brothers were currently living

Taking a deep breath, Hughes knocked on the door of the home where the Elric brothers were currently living. He liked Edward and Alphonse, and news like this was not something he wanted to deliver to Edward. The door opened, Ed stepping out.

"Sergeant Hughes, how are you?"

"Fine, thank you."

"Is everything ok?"  
Hughes sighed. "Ed, I'm really sorry," he said, "But something happened earlier, with Alphonse." Immediately, worry crossed Ed's face.

"What happened? Is he ok?"

Hughes grimaced. "He's fine, a few cuts and bruises, but he's alive. He got into a fight with two other boys and the left the school grounds. Obviously, I escorted them back to school, so that they could continue with their lessons. It wasn't anything to serious I think, a little scuffle, but I thought you should probably be told, seeing as, well, Alphonse's parents aren't around. And, you'll have to make sure this doesn't happen again."

"Yes, of course. Well, thanks Sergeant," Ed said, obviously deep in thought. Hughes nodded and left.

Ed walked indoors, closing the door behind him. He sat down at the table, angrily banging his automail fist on the table. What the heck was going on with Al lately? A fight? It wasn't like Al to get involved in a fight. But then, Al hadn't exactly been himself for the past three days. Four days, including today. It wasn't normal for Al to not eat, to cheat or get angry easily, Al usually had the sweetest temper and enjoyed eating after not being able to do it for a few years. Time passed, and Ed pondered on what could be going on. For absolutely no reason at all, he walked into Al's room. On the desk that stood opposite the bed were three worksheets. Going closer, Ed's eyes narrowed suspiciously. All three of them were exactly the same, but none of them were yet completed. What the hell was going on? Ed shivered as a thought came into his mind. No, it wasn't possible. Al was smarter than that, he would have told Ed. Checking the time, Ed raced out the door. Today, he had decided he would be picking Al up from school.

* * *

Al walked as fast as possible, ignoring his aching legs and numb hand from sitting down and writing all day, since he had been give lines to write at lunch, along with Peter and Kurt, for failing to hand in their homework, breathing heavily. He didn't dare look behind him to see if he was being followed. He just had to get out. He felt a pair of hands suddenly grab his shoulders, and felt himself being dragged against the wall. Then somebody punched his face. The punch didn't hurt nearly as much as the pain that began forming on the back of his head slammed against the bricks.

"You're dead, you're so dead!" Yelled Peter.

"We're sick of you always getting us into trouble!" Kurt shouted.

Another punch.

Al closed his eyes, embracing the pain, submitting to each strike.

"We're gonna kill you, and your stupid brother!"

A kick this time.

"Listen to us!"

A slap.

"Trust me, you're going to be so sorry."

"You're gonna pay!"

"You'll be sorry!"

Another blow.

"Look at us you filthy piece of dirt."

More kicking.

More punching.

"Get away from him!" Al's eyes snap open at the sound of a voice that he instantly recognised in less that half a second. Ed had arrived, as he'd planned, and had seen almost everything, and his fears of what was troubling Al had been confirmed.

"I said get off!" Ed yelled. He grabbed Peter, pulling him away from Al. With his automail arm, Ed grabbed Kurt's arm, the metal tightening painfully around the skin.

"Brother!" Al cried. He looked happy, sad, angry, scared and worried, all at the same time.

"I want you to go home, Al," Ed said firmly, not taking his eyes off of Kurt and Peter, glaring at them furiously.

"But-"

"Go home," Ed repeated sternly.

"Yes brother," Al said submissively.

As Al left, Kurt turned and sniggered. "So, does Alphonse need his big brother to protect him then?"

"Shut up!" Ed snapped, "Neither of you are going to go near my brother again!" And, as he said that, Ed punched Kurt with his automail arm. Kurt went flying, blood trickling from his nose. Peter took a step towards Ed, but Ed kicked him in the shins, while Peter attempted to tear off the automail arm, only to discover if wasn't going to come off that easily. While Ed was distracted, Kurt picked up a small but sharp stone and threw it at Ed with rather good aim. It hit Ed across his forehead, cutting into his skin; a small trickle of blood ran down his face, into his eyes and mouth. Ed punched Peter in the stomach. Peter fell to the ground, gasping and clutching his stomach. Ed ran towards Kurt. Kurt picked up another rock and tried to throw it, but Ed dodged it. Instead, the rock hit Peter right in the head. Peter wheezed at the unexpected stinging pain, wiping up the blood with his fist. Ed grabbed Kurt, slamming his against the wall where Al had been a few minutes ago. He punched Kurt, who struggled desperately to get free, attempting to thumping Ed's shoulders and banging his head with his own.

"Stay away from my brother," Ed growled.


	6. Chapter 6

**

* * *

**

This isn't the last chapter, just to let you know. There is going te be another one, possibly two, depending on where I go with chapter 7. I'm going to update next on Friday night or Saturday. Thanks for the reviews.

* * *

Al slammed the door, kicking it after it had closed, just because he thought it would make him feel better

Al slammed the door, aggressively kicking it as soon as it had closed, just because he thought it would make him feel better. This was just perfect! Was Ed angry with him? He had sounded angry, and looked it to. Why was he here? Waiting for Ed to come home. Waiting for Ed to come home and yell at him for being a stupid, senseless, weak and pathetic? Al sighed. Would Ed really do that? Al sat down on the windowsill, pulling his knees to chest, hugging them tightly. He knew very well that Ed was not really as mean as he had been thinking lately for some reason. No, of course not, Ed would never do anything to hurt Al's feelings. Al rested his head on his knees, staring out of the window, chewing his lip. But would Ed be mad when he came home? After he had finished fighting. That's what Al guessed Ed was doing. He shivered. What if Ed got hurt? It was two against one after all. Would Ed be ok? Al stood up.

"Of course he's not going to be ok," Al growled to himself, Ed had been through much, much worse before. Why had he come here? This was perhaps one of the dumbest things he had ever done. Just leaving Ed to clear things up for him. Why had he been so stupid? What if Ed was badly injured? What if Ed died? Al gritted his teeth, irritated that the thought had come into his head. Of course Ed wasn't going to die! Honestly, now he was just being silly.

"I have to do this. I have to help him," Al whispered to himself, staring at the door as if it was some sort of terrifying monster that might jump up and attack him at any moment.

* * *

"Ow…my head," Peter whimpered, clutching his head. It was probably painful, and it was bleeding A LOT, but head wounds did tend to bleed a lot, so it wasn't probably serious. Besides, he was talking, and was standing up, both of which were good signs. Ed, looking slightly concerned, was distracted for only a moment, but all Kurt needed was a moment. He pushed Ed roughly; Ed stumbled backwards, falling to the ground.

"Damn you!" Ed cried furiously.

Kurt just laughed manically, leaning over Ed, pinning him to the ground. Kurt grabbed Ed's shirt, pulling him a few inches off the ground into a strange, uncomfortable sitting position. He then continuously punched Ed across the face, while Ed struggled with great effort to get free, kicking Kurt's legs with all his might.

* * *

Al ran through the streets, breathing in and out, trying not to drop down dead of exhaustion and worry. The school was just around the corner… he was almost there… Turning the corner, Al skidded to a halt and froze. Peter was kneeling by the gate, clutching his bloody head with his blood stained hands and wailing loudly. Ed was on the ground and Kurt was leaning over him, punching him over and over again.

Gathering up all his strength, Al took a deep breath and sprinted straight past Peter and towards Kurt. Both Ed and Kurt turned to see Al coming, just seconds before Al intentionally ran straight into Kurt, pushing them both to the ground. Kurt quickly untangled his legs from the pile of body parts and scrambled to his feet. Since he was now standing, he was obviously uninjured. Al, who seemed quite shocked by his own actions, was still attempting to get himself into a stable standing position. The minute Al got his balance; Kurt punched him, sending him back to the ground.

"Damn Al! Get out of here," cried Ed.

"This is all your fault," Kurt yelled angrily, towering over Al.

Ed stood up, wiping blood from his nose, standing sort of in between Al and Kurt. "Yeah, blame your troubles on someone else," he said, laughing coldly.

Kurt glared at him.

"You should never have interfered, Elric," he barked, "But somehow, I always guessed that Alphonse would go crying to his big brother eventually."

Al cringed angrily, and Ed scowled.

"I don't know what your problem is," Ed sighed, "But you are going to stay away from my brother." He turned, glancing at Peter, who was still howling and wailing and bleeding. "Maybe this has gone far enough."

"Are you giving up?" Kurt asked gleefully.

Ed turned to look at him. "No!" He snapped.

That was all Kurt had to hear. The next second, Ed found himself being slammed against the wall. Kurt turned and backed away, and small rock went flying from his hand towards Ed, grazing his cheek. Two seconds later, Kurt was running at full speed towards Ed, banging his body roughly against Ed, who's body smashed against the brick wall. Kurt then took a step back, cuffing and smacking Ed's face.

Kurt had almost forgotten Al behind him, and wasn't really that worried about him. Al was angry though. Angry about how he had been treated all week and that they were now hurting his brother. Gathering up all his strength and courage, since he was a bit scared, and grabbed Kurt's collar. He tugged hard at the clothing, causing Kurt to turn around. Al waited for a brief second, ignoring his worries and fears, ignoring Kurt's violent glare. Not waiting another moment, Al curled his hand into a fist and punched Kurt straight it the eye. Kurt didn't fall, but his held fell back, his hands instantly flying up to his face, he yelped slightly. Al let go of him, shaking and trembling, biting his lip, staring at Kurt with wide eyes. Had he done the right thing? Would Kurt leave them alone now? Behind them, Peter was still whimpering.

"Shut up Peter!" Kurt barked. He was kneeling down now, massaging the area around his eye with his finger, moaning and wincing every now and then.

Ed grinned, wiping more blood from his nose.

"Well, you two won't be messing with me or my brother again," he said, sounding very pleased and triumphant. Kurt stood up and stopped rubbing his eyes. He attempted to glare at Ed, but Ed's eyes glared back at him, causing Kurt to drop his gaze. Peter was also standing up now. The bleeding from his head wasn't as bad now. He slowly walked over to Kurt and cautiously tugged at his sleeve.

"We should go," he mumbled. Kurt scowled at the Elric brothers, and the two boys quickly jogged away.

"Well, we sure taught them a lesson!" Ed announced, obviously still very pleased at their achievement. "Hopefully we didn't injure them to badly," He said with a grin, "They can run, and talk. So they should still be alive tomorrow morning."

Ed turned to look at Al, who was staring at the ground blankly.

"Al…" Ed started, his tone of voice softening.

"We should go home," Al interrupted. "I'm really tired, I'd like to go straight to sleep," he added quickly.

"Yeah, sure," Ed said with a nod. "Lets go then." The Elric brothers turned and silently walked back home.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's a bit late everyone. This isn't the last chapter**

* * *

Ed walked ahead of Al, opening the door and holding the door open for him, smiling gently at his younger brother

Ed walked ahead of Al, opening the door and holding the door open for him, smiling gently at his younger brother. Avoiding Ed's watch, Al quickly walked into their home.

"Al -" Ed started.

"I'm tired," Al interrupted quickly, turning towards his room. "I'm going to go to bed."

"But Al, I think we need to talk," protested Ed.

Al made a face and clenched his fists. Grimacing, trying to look as calm and natural as possible, he turned around slowly to face his older brother.

"I'm sorry Ed, I'm just really tired. We can talk some other time." Al said, forcing a small laugh.

Ed closed his eyes for a second, trying to hold back a sigh. "Of course Al, sure, some other time."  
Al smiled again, trying his hardest to look as cheerful as possible. "See you in the morning, brother." Al quickly turned and shut the door. Ed stared out of the window. It was still quite early, the sun had gone and a few stars were visible among the clouds but it wasn't completely dark. Maybe Al was just tired. And anyway, perhaps he needed some freedom, time to think about things. Ed would have preferred Al confiding in him about his feelings, especially after keeping the bullying problem a secret from him. Surely though, they would have a chat about it in the morning. Al just needed a bit of time to recover. Ed had decided to keep Al off of school for a while, but he was going to let Al decide if he wanted to go back at all. He wouldn't make Al go back there, if he didn't want to.

After a few minutes, Ed got up and grabbed his coat and pulled it on. It was unlikely that Al would leave his room, but Ed left him a note just incase.

Gone out, be back soon – Ed

Ed walked down to Gracia's shop. He had been planning to talk to Gracia, but he looked a lot happier to see Noa just leaving the store.

"Noa!" Ed grinned, walking over to her.

"Hello Edward," she said with a smile.

"How you doing?" He asked.

Noa replied "Good, you?"

"Yeah, ok."

"Just ok?" She asked.

"Al's been having a few problems at school," said Ed with a sigh.

"Problems?" Noa asked, sounding a bit worried.

"Some kids were picking on him."

Noa smiled sympathetically. "I think that's rather normal in schools. The adults are usually aware of what goes on, but they usually don't make an effort to prevent it, unless cheating is involved or something like that."

"Cheating?" Ed asked, suddenly curious, remembering that Al had recently been hit in school.

"Yes. One of the boys who is causing Al grief, he may be forcing Al to do his work or tell him the answers and such."

Ed chewed his lip. Al had been getting an unnaturally large amount of homework, and that would explain the cheating incident. He was sure Al would never really do something like that.

"I think that might have been happening to him," Ed mumbled, "He hasn't said much about this whole thing, which is starting to bug me."

Noa touched him briefly on the shoulder. Ed wasn't sure if she was trying to comfort him or trying to read his mind.

"He'll probably open up to you eventually. But it is good to talk about this with him."

"Yeah," Ed agreed.

"He probably is feeling scared and embarrassed."

"Why would he be?" Ed frowned.

"Well, he's probably confused. He might think you are angry."

Ed bit his lip hard. This was tough. Why the hell would he be angry with Al because some kids were bullying him?

"I had better get back," Ed said, "Thanks, Noa."

"See you soon Ed, I hope he's feeling better soon."

* * *

Al walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen, the sunlight shining through the windows.

"It's about time," Ed snapped, jumping up from the kitchen table.

Al looked at him, slightly puzzled.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Ed demanded. Al turned and looked at the clock. It was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon!

Al chuckled, turning to look at Ed. "Wow, I really was tired, wasn't I? I had no idea I could sleep so much."

"Yeah, I didn't know that it was humanly possible," Ed muttered sarcastically. He was pretty sure Al hadn't been asleep. There was no way.

"Lunch?" Ed asked. Al shook his head.

"No thank you, Brother."

"Suit yourself," Ed grumbled. He couldn't help but feel a little bit irritated with Al.

"Anyway, Al. I wanted to talk - "

"Come on brother, not now," Al groaned. "It's way to nice today to stay indoors. I'm going to go on a walk."

"Fine," Ed sighed.

"Thanks brother!" Al grinned, running outdoors.

...

Al gritted his teeth. He had been out for a very long time, but he didn't feel like going inside. He exhaled loudly. These excuses were just getting stupid. He couldn't keep avoiding Ed like this. Al sat down on the pavement, biting his nail. Ed was going to talk to him sooner or later.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry this is so late everyone. I've been very busy at school. Since it's thanksgiving, I'll be updating again soon. Enjoy**

* * *

Al looked up and realised that it was starting to get dark. He must have been out for ages. Goodness, Ed was going to kill him. The streets were almost empty, the occasional person would totter pass, rushing to get home. But Al didn't want to go home. Ed would be mad, and would probably force Al to talk to him. Why did Ed have to know? Why did he have to go poking his nose into other people's business? Suddenly, something hard struck Al on the back of his head. He gasped sharply and whirled around, just as small, smooth stone went flying past his face. Walking towards him was Kurt and Peter. Al felt absolutely sick. He would have given anything to have just died at that very moment. He had been glad that Ed had dealt with them – deep down. He had thought that he would never have to see them again. Well, apparently he was wrong.

"So, Elric. You decided to go snitching to your brother, huh?" Kurt snarled.

"Baby," sniggered Peter.

Al stood up and turned and walked away.

"Where are you going, Elric?" Taunted Peter.

Al began to run. He heard two pairs of footsteps speeding up behind him.

"Why you running?" Sneered Kurt. Al gasped. They were closer than he thought. Al was starting to get desperate now. Where could he go? At that moment, Al twisted his ankle and fell. There was no time for him to get up. He instantly felt the pain – the slapping, the kicking, the punching, the pounding. They were practically on top of Al, punching his face, his eyes and his jaw. Kicking his back and his ribs, slapping his cheeks, standing on his stomach. One of them grabbed his shirt and roughly pulled him to his feet. He couldn't stand. Then, he was slammed against the wall, and then they let go, allowing him to fall back down to earth. He ached all over.

"Brother…help me…please…please," Al whispered as tears began to fall from his eyes. Al cringed as Kurt and Peter laughed at him. He felt so cold, so lonely. He needed Ed, he wanted his big brother. He wished he had trusted Ed more and been more grateful.

"Brother…"

* * *

"Officer Hughes!" Ed cried, running up to the police officer.

"Good Evening Edward," Hughes said.

"Hughes, have you seen Al? Asked Ed desperately, "He's been gone for ages."

Hughes looked concerned. "I haven't Ed. But, but I'll keep an eye out for him."

Ed sighed. "Thanks."

Ed walked down the next few streets, but his search was fruitless, there was no sign of Al anywhere. For a brief second, Ed thought Al might have run away. He quickly pushed the thought out of his head. Al would never do a stupid thing like that. Ed wandered the streets aimlessly, hoping that he would come across Al eventually. But the roads were empty and deserted. As he turned a corner, Ed noticed a figure lying across the sidewalk. Ed's heart instantly stopped beating. No. No. What had happened?

"Al! Al! Al!" Ed screamed, running over to his brother. Al lay across the pavement. He was bruised, battered and bleeding. "Al! Al, wakeup, please. Please wakeup." Ed begged. He bent down to sit next to Al. He carefully picked Al up, but Al just groaned in pain. "I'm sorry Al," Ed whispered. "I'm taking you home. You'll be ok. I promise. You'll be fine. We're going home."

* * *

Noa and Gracia helped Ed take Al home and make sure that he was ok. They bandaged Al's cuts and put him to bed.

"Those boys did this to him. I'm sure of it," Ed growled.

"Ed…" Noa began.

"I'll never forgive them," snarled Ed, "This time they've gone way to far."

Noa and Gracia smiled sympathetically.

"I'll kill them," barked Ed. "I swear I'll kill them!"

"Edward," Gracia said softly, "You have to look after Al first."

Ed nodded slowly. "Yes, you're right."

"I'm sure he'll be fine Ed," Noa assured Ed.

"Thanks Noa. And thanks Gracia. I really appreciate you two helping us."

The two women smiled at the oldest Elric boy.

"We'll leave you two now, tell Al we said get well soon," Gracia said before she and Noa left. After they had gone, Ed sat down on the end of the bed, looking at Al. He looked so vulnerable and so innocent. Ed just couldn't understand how anyone would want to hurt him?


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello Everybody. I know, I know. It's been YEARS! I'm sorry. My laptop broke :-( But the good news is…it's fixed…mostly…YAY! :-) Okay, well, enjoy this chapter and there'll be another one this weekend.**

Kurt and Peter laughed hysterically as Al twisted his ankle and fell to the ground, preventing his from running away. The two boys immediately began to punch and kick and slap him with all their might. Stupid, idiotic snitch. He was going to pay. Kurt kicked him roughly in the side. This time, Al didn't cry out or groan. Tears were rolling silently down his face, and he whimpered softly, but didn't move. He was badly bruised and bleeding in a couple of places. Kurt tore his gaze away from the practically lifeless body and looked at Peter, who was punching Al's chest.

"Stop it!" Kurt screamed. He ran and grabbed Peter's arms, roughly jerking him away.

"What did you do that for?" Peter growled.

"We have to stop this," Kurt said unsteadily, "We've gone way too far."

"So we beat him up a bit? He did the same to us. Big deal."

"You damn idiot!" Yelled Kurt, unexpectedly punching Peter in the face. Peter managed to stop himself from falling. He raised his hand and ran his fingers through the warm blood that had begun to appear on his cheek.

"Why the hell did you do that for?" Peter barked angrily.

Kurt ignored him. Trembling, he turned to stare at Al again.

"What the heck were we thinking?" Yelled Kurt

"He deserved it." Peter said firmly.

"Who cares about that!" Kurt sobbed, "We've killed him. We've gone way too far. We're going to die! We're dead! We're dead!"

"For heavens sake, calm down you frigging crybaby, honestly, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Kurt sniffed and glared at Peter.

"Don't you understand? Don't you care? We, we…"

"Ok, ok," Peter interrupted. "I'm sure his darn brother is looking for him. Ok, he's breathing. We'll leave him here, somebody will find him. He'll be fine. Nobody will know it was us."

"He knows, he knows. He'll tell them." Kurt whimpered. He couldn't stop himself from crying. What had they done?

Peter chewed his lip. "He's scared of us. He won't tell. His brother found out and look what happened to him now."

Kurt bit his lip, "Are you sure?"

Peter nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure, of course." Kurt didn't look very convinced.

"Come on; let's go before we get caught."

"Are you sure he'll be alright?"

"Yes, positive. He'll be fine," Peter muttered.

"_What's the matter Alphonse?" Trisha asked, sitting down next to her youngest son and putting an arm around him._

"_Nothing," he mumbled._

"_Now dear, what's upsetting you?"_

"_Somebody was mean to me in school yesterday," Al admitted._

"_I thought that was what was on your mind," replied Trisha, "Ed told me all about it."_

"_Ed knew?" Al asked, surprised._

"_Yes, he told me that Winry had told him about it."_

"_Oh." Al sighed. He looked at his mother and clenched his fists. "But why did he tell _

_you?"_

_Trisha smiled sympathetically. "Firstly, Al, you should have told me the moment you came home, or told a teacher in school would have been better."_

"_I'm sorry," Al whimpered, "But Ed shouldn't have told you about it, especially since he wasn't even there."_

_Trisha placed a hand on Al's shoulder. "He didn't tell me, Alphonse, His teacher did. Ed was very angry at the boy who was mean to you Al, they got into a little fight. It was very wrong of him, but it's nice to see how much he cares about you."_

_Al stared at his mother, his eyes wide with surprise._

"_He got into a fight. Why?"_

"_Why do you think, silly?" Trisha laughed, rubbing Al's back and kissing his forehead. "Ed loves you sweetie and he cares about you. He wasn't going to just let that boy be mean to you."_

_Al blushed and smiled shyly. "That was nice of him; he didn't have to do that."_

"_He shouldn't have done it either, Ed's been very bad. Violence is never the answer to solving problems." Trisha said._

"_Is he hurt?" Asked Al, suddenly becoming worried._

"_No, not really, just a few scrapes and scratches."_

_Al breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."_

"_You should thank him." Trisha suggested._

_Al nodded and got up. He ran outside where Ed was playing with Winry and Den._

"_Brother!" Cried Al. Ed looked up in alarm as Al raced towards him and flung his arms around Ed's waist._

"_What on Earth-" Ed started._

"_Thank you for sticking up for me brother!" Al cried._

_Ed smiled and awkwardly patted Al's back. "You're welcome, Al."_

"_I hope you're not hurt," Al added, "You didn't have to do that for me."_

_Ed rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid Al, was I just going to stand there and watch. You're my brother, and nobody picks on my little brother!"_

Al opened his eyes to find that tears were running down his face. He remembered it so clearly, like it had happened yesterday. As if their mother had never died and he and Ed were kids again with Winry and Granny Pinako and Den back in Resembool. But their mother had died, and foolishly, Ed and Al had tried to bring her back. After many years, Al had finally got his body back, although unfortunately, Ed hadn't. And now, they were orphans. Both their parents were dead and they had left the Rockbells, their only other family and were living in a strange place and they would never be able to go back. Al sobbed violently. What would it have been like, if they had stayed? If they had never come here? Ed and Al would have gone to live with Winry and Pinako. Everything would be good again, just like when they were kids. No sadness, no burdens, no danger. Al groaned as he rolled over on his side. His body hurt and he was tired and hungry and scared. Suddenly, after painfully turning over, Al noticed Ed sitting on the window sill, watching his little brother with sharp, hawk-like eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Ed asked. There was no emotion in his face or his voice.

Al just shrugged, and grunted as he tried to sit up in bed.

Ed stood up. "We need to talk."


	10. Chapter 10

Silently fuming at Ed's order, Al stood up carefully, wincing in pain as he did. He felt like falling over, or just going back to bed, but he wasn't in the mood to just sit there and listen to Ed blabber on like he was an adult, because he wasn't. Al didn't need lecturing, and he didn't Ed to do it for him. That was what people had mothers and fathers for, but Al's parents were dead. Sure, he would listen, but he just wasn't going to sit and stare at him. Turning and walking into the kitchen, Al replied sourly. "Sure, go on then." Frowning, Ed slowly followed him into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. He looked at Al, noticing that his younger brother was doing his best to ignore him and avoid his gaze. Al began pouring himself a glass of milk. Ed felt a desperate urge to hold his nose and pretend to vomit. It was gross really. He could almost _smell_ it. Oh the horror.

"How are you feeling?" Ed asked.

"Fine," Al lied, taking a large gulp of his milk.

"You're not going back," Ed informed his younger brother. Al felt a strange mix of emotions rushing through him. Most of his wanted to run over and hug Ed, but another small part of him felt angry and scared. So he would have to sit in this little apartment all day with Ed watching him like a hawk. Al shivered. He wouldn't be able to put up with that; Ed would never let him out of his sight!

"Back where?" Al asked dumbly. Usually, Ed probably would have rolled his eyes and laughed at Al – only teasing him though, of course. But tonight, Ed simply replied. "To school."

If he didn't go back, everyone would know why, and they would all think that he was scared, a stupid baby who needs his older brother to look after him. Al put on a brave face. "It's ok brother, I want to go back."

Ed stared at Al in surprise, a puzzled look on his face.

"What the hell would you want to do that for?" He demanded, raising his voice a bit. Al bit his lip, trembling slightly. He took a sip of milk. He hadn't expected Ed to get angry.

"Well, there are good things about school…" Al said, but couldn't think of anything, and prayed Ed wouldn't ask him.

"Oh really," Ed asked casually, "like?"

"Well… the teachers are nice," Al said. He clenched his fist, trying hard to resist the temptation to look at the faint scar that had marked his palm. "And we learn things…"

"Ok then, if you say so. What have you learnt?"

Al froze. What had he learnt? He couldn't make things up. Ed had been here for two years; Al hadn't been here very long. He didn't know anything about this world. Ed would know that he was making things up. That he was lying, that he had been lying. Al suddenly realized. He never lied. Ed himself had said that about Al to Winry, about three or four years ago in the hospital in Central after Ed and Al had been investigating at Lab 5. Al had been lying to Ed a lot recently, and keeping things from him. What was the point in lying? Ed practically already knew the truth. He knew that his little brother was an idiot who couldn't take care of himself. Ed had even called Al an idiot on numerous occasions. Ed knew that Al had been bullied, had been hiding things from him, had lied to him and had cheated. Why bother with all these stupid stories? Yet Al couldn't bring himself to open himself up to his older brother.

"Well? Anything?" Ed snapped impatiently. "You seem to be getting a heck of a lot of homework, so I would expect them to actually teaching you something."

Al was now looking Ed in the eyes. Those sharp, golden eyes. Al couldn't hide from them. They were searing his skin, able to see right through him. Al clenched his fists, staring timidly at his older brother. Ed was so much older now. There was now a physical five year age difference between them, and in that moment, Al felt like a stupid little kid.

"Or is there another reason you're doing so much work? Of the same work?" Ed demanded coldly.

Desperately Al tried to stop the tears from running down his face. His eyes burnt with warm, salty tears that stung his cheeks as they fell uncontrollably and his vision was blurred.

"Please stop," Al begged, "Just leave me alone."

"Al, what's wrong?" Ed asked. He stood up and touched Al's shoulder. Al shrugged him off and tried to run past but Ed grabbed his arm.

"Let go off me," Al spat bitterly.

Ed looked taken back. "Al, stop this! It's ok. Just stay here. You have to talk to me"

"Stop it!" Al cried. "I don't have to do anything you say, and I don't want to talk to you! Just leave me alone, I'm not a baby!" Al pulled away from Ed and ran to his room. He slammed the door and flung himself on to his bed, burying his face into his pillow and crying pitifully.

**Ok, so there will probably be another chapter or two. This was originally going to be the last chapter, but I decided against that. I've already started the next chapter so that will be up either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Hope you enjoyed this. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok, last chapter! I want to thank you all SO SO much for the reviews. Seriously, they make me really happy, I love them. You guys are great. I hope that you enjoy this chapter…**

Ed stood in the kitchen, staring after his younger brother, his entire body filling with a variety of emotions – shock, surprise, sorrow, confusion, annoyance at himself for upsetting his little brother. Ed thought that his heart would break. Had this whole thing really affected Al that much? Ed leant forward in his chair, holding his face in his hands. Although he remained silent, inside his head, Ed was aggressively yelling at himself and smacking himself ruthlessly. He really was an idiot! What type of older brother was he? Al had been locked up in his room all this time, working, crying, probably not sleeping, and hardly eating. Since both Hohenheim and Trisha were dead, and they weren't with the Rockbell's, it was Ed's responsibility to take care of his younger brother. And obviously, he was doing a _brilliant_ job so far.

A few minutes later, Ed stopped brooding and decided it was time to have a chat with Al He had decided not to lecture him since Al seemed sensitive to that, but he would have a talk _with_ Al, meaning that Al got to take part in the conversation, if he wanted to. Ed didn't bother knocking, but cautiously opened the door. Al heard him, and the crying immediately stopped and Al's body froze. He was lying prostrate on the bed, his face stuffed into his pillow. Silently, Ed sat down on the bed next to Al.

"Al," he asked, "Can we talk."

"No," Al muttered. His reply surprised Ed a little bit.

"Al, please, I want to help you."

Al looked up at Ed, glaring coldly. Ed tried to ignore this, but it was difficult to disregard such a dirty look that was unfortunately coming from his little brother. Instead, Ed miserably noticed Al's puffy scarlet eyes, flushed tear-stained cheeks and apparently stuffy nose. It really was a pitiful sight.

"I don't need your help," Al hissed, "I'm not a baby."

Ed frowned. Al seemed to be saying that a lot. "I never said that you were. But don't be an idiot Al, you shouldn't listen to _them_."

Al scowled at his older brother. "Shut up. Stop calling me that. You always call me an idiot. I hate it!" Before Ed could reply, Al started to get up from the bed, aiming to leave the room. Ed reached forward and grabbed Al's arm. Al pressed his lips together.

"Let go of me. Why do you keep doing that? You can't force me to do anything."

Ed didn't reply, instead he yanked Al backwards back onto the bed. He lay Al down and positioned himself so head had one arm held securely around Al's shoulders, and the other hand still grasping Al's wrist. Al cried out in frustration.

"Al," Ed said quietly, "You must know that I don't mean it when I call you an idiot."

Al sniffed. Ed continued after a moment. "They were just being mean to you Al, trying to annoy you. You're not a baby. You don't have to listen to them, and you don't have to go back there."

"But I am a baby, because I can't look after myself and they'll think I'm even more stupid if I don't go back," mumbled Al.

"Just because you're not fully capable of looking after yourself all the time doesn't make you a baby, or an idiot or stupid. It doesn't mean anything."

"I don't know why I'm so scared of them," Al sobbed, "I've faced a lot worse before, back when I was in that suit of armour."

"I can't really answer that Al," Ed said, "But it doesn't mean that you're not brave or anything."

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about it brother," Al croacked.

"It's ok Al, I understand why you didn't want to. But Al, you can tell me anything. I don't want you to keep things like this away from me again, ok?"

"Ok," Al agreed with a sigh.

"Anyway, you don't have to worry about staying here. I don't blame you. It's horrible here. I'm going to find Dad's old research, and I'll find a way to get you home."

"Will you come?" Al asked.

"Probably not Al," replied Ed, "Going from one world to another probably involves opening the gate. I've got to be on this side to close it or I'll end up starting another war."

Al looked alarmed. "If you're not coming Brother, then I'm not going."

"Come on, I hate to see you here. You're so unhappy. And look at you. You're half dead! I'd be much happier knowing that you were happy and safe in Resembool with Winry and Aunt Pinako."

"But I am happy here," Al insisted, "Please don't make me go Brother. I want to be with you. I spent two years searching for you. I can't live without you!"

"Don't be silly Al," said Ed.

"I'm not," cried Al, "I have to be with you, you just don't understand!"

"Al, face it, I know that I've messed up your life. It was my idea to bring mom back to life and you nearly died. You nearly died numerous times after that, even though you were in a suit of armour. And now I've dragged you to live in this place."

"Ed!" Al yelled, "Stop. You haven't messed up my life. Are you insane? I agreed to bringing mom back. I had doubts later, but if I was really worried, then I should have stopped it. And I came here on my own free will. If you remember clearly, you just suddenly decided to abandon me."

"Abandon?" Ed gasped, "I didn't abandon you. I knew that you were alive and that was all that mattered. I didn't want to leave you, but we would have been able to talk to each other occasionally, thanks to your alchemy."

"Ed, I'm sorry for what I've done. But I need you. I want to stay here."  
Ed sighed. "For heavens sake Al, listen to me! You haven't done anything wrong! Ok? This isn't your fault and you are not a baby. So for crying out loud stop beating your self up about this!"

"Yes brother," Al said meekly.

Ed silently shouted at himself. _That's right Edward, well done. Look: congratulations, you made him cry again!_

Ed turned and wrapped his arms around Al, pulling Al close to his body. "I'm sorry Al, I didn't mean to get mad."

"I'm also sorry," Al sniffed, also wrapping his arms around Ed.

Ed rested his head on top of Al's while Al buried his face into his older brother's chest grabbing onto him tightly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ed asked, softly patting Al's back.

"I wanted to after a little while, but I thought that you would hate me for doing their work and telling them the answers."

"Oh Al," Ed said, "I could never hate you."

Al giggled a little bit, much to the surprise of both him and Ed. "I remember saying that to you a few years ago."

Ed smiled. "Yeah, I remember it to."

"I was being really stupid back them," Al muttered.

"It wasn't your fault," replied Ed.

Al grinned, "But you do think that I was acting stupid."

"No, you weren't."

"Brother, I don't want to go back to school."

"That's fine."

"And I want to stay here with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Well, of course you can stay if you really want to."

"Yes, I do."

The brothers sat quietly together, tightly embracing each other. Al was still silently crying, but his body was no longer shaking and he was smiling and was convinced that he was crying tears of joy. He felt safe and warm in his brother's arms.

"Maybe having somebody looking after you and looking out for you isn't so bad," Al whispered, "It never bothered me before, how we protected each other. I just, for some reason, didn't like it when Kurt and Peter said that I couldn't stand up for myself and I needed you to do it for me."

Ed gritted his teeth. That was when he realized what had been nagging him for a while now. He had to boys he had to go beat up. He suddenly pulled away from Al and stood up. "Stay here," Ed commanded, "I'll be home soon."

Al grabbed onto Ed's hand, his eyes wide with fear. "Where are you going?"

"To kill those god damn boys!" Ed answered truthfully.

Somehow, Al's eyes grew even wider. "Brother, please don't, it won't help."

"But Al…have you seen what they did to you?"

"I don't mind you looking after me, I'm not going back to school," Al reminded Ed, "It won't happen again."

Ed didn't look satisfied.

"I'll tell you if anything like this ever happens again. I will, honest." Al promised, "Please don't beat them up. You might get into trouble."

Ed snorted. "I seriously doubt that."

Al tugged at Ed's arm. "Please stay here with me tonight."

Ed looked into Al's pleading eyes and his grim face disappeared and his heart melted. Al just looked so young and innocent. How could he say no to that face? Al slipped under the sheets and Ed sat down on the bed next to him. Al snuggled closer to Ed and the two brothers wrapped their arms around each others.

Ed kissed the top of Al's forehead. "I love you Al,"

"I love you brother," Al replied.


End file.
